Chapter Nine
Of course he cared for me, of course he wanted me, I had sensed that underlying lust for so long but when had it progressed without my knowledge? He truly was a difficulty to read… But why had I been so cruel? I mentally beat myself up, going over our argument again and again. My words had been uncalled for and nothing would have ever given me the right to speak to him that way, not even if he had done something so terribly wrong that they would be justified. He was my first friend and it was my job to cherish him and care for him, but the differences between us were just too great for me to love him in a romantic way. Yes I loved him, but as a brother and a dear friend. That young human was important to me, but I was not going to lead him on with false endearment. I would not tell him how I felt, but I wouldn't tell him how I didn't feel either. That was the only way to avoid losing him as friend at this point. Any other option I was not willing to perform…
Suddenly, a loud crash jolted me from my thoughts and I kicked into high gear. Clods of mushy snow flew up behind my swift paws, my mouth open so I could pant and my eyes watching for the camp. Finally it loomed in the distance, a great shadow half hidden by the trees. I slowed to a steady lope and then to a trot before lowering my speed even more so I cold creep up on my belly and examine the situation. Mistari traders were yelling at Frektane guardsmen about how clumsy they were and the guardsmen were yelling right back about how the Mistari wouldn't know what clumsy was if it hit them in the face. I rolled my eyes at the weakness of the wolves' comeback, but recognized the potential for a brawl to break out in the middle of camp. So, I continued to crawl forward on my belly until I had managed to slip under a supply wagon that was relatively close to the arguing men. There I waited and watching for either the men to cool down or the first punch to be thrown. It wasn't long before the latter occurred.
One of the Mistari men had taken great offense when a Frektane guard had made some vulgar comment on the tiger's family and he reared back a fist. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion after that. I saw the Mistari man's fist flying forward and I launched myself at that arm, hoping to drag him down and use surprise to bring the people back to their senses. Unfortunately, with my one minded focus, I didn't see another tiger leaping for me just as my teeth closed around the first's wrist. Thankfully, the punch was stopped, but I then found myself on my side, the breath knocked out of me, and with a tiger's paw threatening to crush my ribcage. A strangled yelp escaped my throat as I struggled to free myself, and amazingly the weight lifted. Oxygen flooded into my lungs and black dots danced in front of my vision. Even so, I pushed myself onto wobbly legs and turned to face my aggressor.
He had shifted back into his human form so he was much taller than he had been and standing on two legs. Even as his figure was consumed and spat out by the multitude of black spheres, I could see that he was handsome and apparently kind for he knelt and reached out muscled arms to steady me. No, not steady me; he pulled me gently into a warm embrace, nuzzling his face into the fur on my neck and behind my ear. The world around us seemed to fade away and for a few seconds I was too surprised to be angry or scared, but the adrenaline quickly ran out and I returned to my right mind as the dancing dots retreated to the back of my head. I snarled and twisted away from the tiger, shifting rapidly as I did, so that the woman who emerged was looking a little haphazard. There was a scowl on my face, specifically to hide the surprise my mind was still reeling with, as I advanced upon the man. I raised a hand and jabbed my index finger into the tiger's broad and well muscled chest, the action meant to accusatory but I think that effect was lessened when he simply smiled at my antics. However, that only helped to irritate me more.
"Who do you think you are coming in here and attacking me and then pulling something like, like…that!" My voice rose to a shriek as I lost control of my usually somber and critical appearance. "What made you think you had the right to—"
"Karis!" The tiger shout to cut me off, and it worked excellently. "Karis, don't you recognize me?" He asked, his voice now soft and hopeful as he stepped forward, reaching out for me with his large hands. I could only stand there, dumbfounded and shocked, wondering why that name sounded so familiar. The palms of his hands brushed against my cheeks as he tenderly caressed my face, once again drawing me against him in a warm embrace. My eyes were wide with surprise but I didn't pull away, in fact, as his right hand came up to cradle the back of my head and his left arm squeezed me tighter, I felt my arms coming up around his middle. "Karis…" He murmured into my hair, as the feeling of déjà vu became more and more pronounced in my thoughts. "Karis, I've missed you so much…"
Finally, the surprise and familiarity of this man and his embrace and the repetition of that name, a stranger's name but not mine. Right? With sudden vehemence, I yanked away from his arms. Those strong, comforting—No! I refused to lose my thoughts again; he was nothing more than a cat! He's a tiger, and you know him… Why are you fighting that? Some rational part of my mind was saying, but I shoved it away listening instead to my instincts and to my fear which both were saying dogs have never played well with cats. This would be no exception. "I don't know you… And my name isn't Karis…" I forced the words out of my mouth, stumbling away from him until my back thudded against the wagon I had hid under.
With sudden rapidity, everything around me seemed to magnify and come into crystal clear focus. The men around us – wolf and tiger alike – staring at the tiger and I with confused expressions, Velyo sprinting to my side from somewhere across the camp and snarling angrily at his guardsmen about coming to him sooner when someone arrives at their front door, and the one thing that was so crystalline was the tiger's face. He watched her with something like anguish in those fiery orange eyes, hints of green swirling through them; the hardness of his jaw as he drew himself to his full height and tried to smile as if everything was alright and he had mistaken her for someone else. But it was all fake, I could see it in his eyes that he knew me, or at least he thought he knew me, and that my turning away from him had been like sliding a knife into his back.
"My apologies ma'am." The tiger said, bowing his head slightly in respect. "I thought you were someone I once knew. But then I guess ghosts don't walk so visibly do they…" He let the sentence drop and stood for a while before saying something to his men in a sharp tongue and turning on his heel to begin unloading one of the wagons.
"Are you alright?" Velyo asked me, his voice tense as he scanned me over quickly as things died down and his guardsmen returned to their posts while the Mistari traders unloaded a the few things they would need that night.
No! I'm not alright! I know that man but I've never seen him in my life and my best friend is in love with me and I have no idea how to tell him I don't feel the same way without losing him forever! I'm tired, cold, and hungry and all I want to do is go to sleep! "Yes, I'm fine." I replied morosely, glancing over my shoulder at the darkening woods as I thought about Simon out there all alone. Had the day really gone by so quickly? How could I have forgotten about him for so long? What a friend I am… "I need to go out and get Simon though…" I made a move as if to start for the trees, his hand sliding down my arm from where he had grasped me. I was surprised when his fist suddenly tightened around my wrist, stopping me from going any further. I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering what he was stopping me for when who knows what could have been attacking Simon. "What Velyo?" I prompted, my voice clipped in my haste to retrieve Simon before he was injured.
"Um…" The Frektane prince glanced around for some reason to have stopped me, his piercing blue eyes unable to look directly at mine.
Finally he sighed as if defeated and I briefly wondered what was going on with him, but my wrist slipped from his grasp and I immediately shifted and took off into the woods. Once I hit the tree line, I paused and looked back at him. He stood there staring at where I had disappeared, a confused look of loss and anger clouding his face. His mixed feelings confused me, but I didn't have time to think about it right then, I needed to get to Simon as fast as I could. So, I spun around and sprinted as fast as my black paws could carry me, praying that he would still be where I left him and that nothing had harmed my precious friend. Please let him be alright…